Dinner in Williamsburg

The boys, well Alan really, were in need of a glass of red wine to compensate for the torrential downpour which stopped play today. They were recommended to go to "Rocco's Smokehouse", which was down the road a block or two, as being one of the few places that sell alcohol with meals. 

They left us in the hotel as they always do, when they go out for a meal and walked the two blocks to the said restaurant in the rain. Getting over the four lane highway in the dark and rain was the next problem. It would appear that very few Americans go out at night on foot in this area, for there were no pedestrian crossings at all. They solved the problem by pretending to be cars and crossing at the lights, when they turned in their favour.

The cook stood at the door to welcome them, but Alan refused to kiss him as it said, but did give him a cuddle. Nothing could go wrong with the evening now, but Alan cursed that he had not brought his camera. George saved the day with his phone.

Alan got his glass of Merlot and when it came to George's beer the waiter brought him three glasses of the local brew to try.

Choosing what to eat in this "meat heavy" restaurant was not easy either, but the whole experience did compensate them for a very rainy day.

George's meal

Alan's meal

There is nothing finer than a good glass of wine when you have been "pissed" off by the events of the day.

The boys returned happy and content, even though the rain had not stopped. We think they will sleep well tonight, but we are going to need ear plugs, for we feel they will snore the night away as if they are  chopping down a rain forest.

Williamsburg

This morning when we got up, it was overcast and very warm and humid. Like being in the tropics. Outside the front of the hotel are some "Wau Waus" which sadly did not bring us much luck today.

We went back in time to 18th century Williamsburg and visited those places we left out yesterday.

In Germany there are people who run around in Middle Age Costumes, so having Americans running around in 18th century costumes, since they cannot go that far back in their history, is about the same. We found another pretty maid to chat up and she found us so sweet she even gave us a cuddle.

This woman showed us around the House of Burgesses, which was the seat of Government in Virginia in those revolutionary days.

We then left historic Williamsburg by bus to find a coffee house in the modern side of town. While in the bus it started raining cats and dogs! After our coffee we returned to the car to then drive to Jamestown, but when we got there a torrential down pour had us running for cover in the Cafe.

The boys, rather demoralised, returned to the hotel as there was little real point in going on just to get soaked to the skin. Tomorrow promises to be sunny again, so we will visit then, before making our way back to Washington.

A step back in time.

This morning in Washington the sky was overcast, but it was warm and promised to get to 27 degrees Centigrade. After breakfast we checked out and drove the three hours, including the stop for coffee, to Williamsburg in Virginia. On the way the sun came out and chased the grey skies away, so that by the time we arrived we had blue skies, fluffy white clouds and 28 degrees or more. The humidity was high too and it felt like we were back in the tropics. Since we are a little further south than Lisbon, it is no surprise that the weather is now so good.

We drove to the visitor centre and bought a special day ticket for seniors, which allows us to come and go in the park until the end of the year! It seemed excessive, but is the cheaper option since we can come and go on the shuttle bus around town and go into most of the exhibits during the day. We took in a short film, which was made here in the Williamsburg historic town and showed the main events leading up to the revolution as they occurred in Williamsburg, which at the time was the capital of Virginia.

With another break for coffee and cookies we then set off to go back in time.

Once back in time we encountered all manner of people and houses. The first house we visited was the Governor's residence, which these Colonials described as a palace, but was merely a large country house.

In the outside kitchen we met a scullery maid.

She assured us that all the food on the table was cooked in the kitchen you see here. They also had a smoke house and a well nearby. 

Then a maid from the house came to guide us around the residence. Her name was Terri and she was a real gossip, telling us all the rumours surrounding the governor and his Lady. Alan made it known that he still was a most loyal subject of the crown, but complemented her on her presentation which was really well done and most enjoyable.

A well fed gentleman, we thought!

We discovered, as we walked into the town, that modern people were making a film in this time zone!

It was about this time that we were getting hot in our perches in Alan's rucksack with just our heads out. We have to admit we have seen more this way than ever before, as in the past we have stood guard over the belongings in the hotel room. Well, anyway we spied a very pretty maid with a basket and so we used all our combined charm to ask her to show us around, which she willingly did.

The first hitching rail we've seen.

For gallivanting off with pretty young ladies, Alan had intended to put us in the stocks, but thankfully they were already occupied!

The boys were now hot and tired and so took the shuttle bus back to the car park. Then we drove to the hotel and checked in. Tomorrow we will step back in time again we think.